Railway signaling



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet-1- J. G. SCHREUDER. RLWAY SIGNLING.,

LNo. 543,785. @wanted July 30, 1895.

3c FIGJ- (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. GqSCHREUDER. RAILWAY SIGNALING Patented July 30, 1895.,`

IA? Y.

l UNITED Sra'rns 'Parent' arten.

JENS G. SQHRUDER, OF EDGEWOOD PARK,`ASSIGNOR TO THE vUNION SWITCH AND SIGNAL COMPANY, OF SWISSVALE, PENNSYLVAN.

RAILWAY SIGNALING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 543,785, dated July 30, 1895.

Application tica nach 28,1594. serai no. 505,435. fr?! man.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JnNsG. ScHRnUDEn, a subject ot' the King of Sweden \andNorway,

residing at Edgewood Park, in thecounty of' Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvementsin Railway Signaling, of which improvements the following is a specification.

Considerable annoyance and trouble are/em countered in electric signaling and other like arts by the adherence ot the armature to the poles of a relay after its circuit has been broken, due to residual magnetism in the cores of the magnets, and also by the welding of the contact-strip carried by the armature to one of the contact-points by heavy electric currents during a thunder storm, thereby preventing the completion or interruption ot a signal-circuit controlled by the relay.

The object of the present invention is to provide for the certain and instant obliteration or removal of residual magnetism or reversal of polarity of the cores of the magnet and the consequent immediate movement of the armature ot' a relay from its poles on the breaking of the main circuit of the relay, and also t0 provide a shunt-circuit in case of the welding of the contact-strip ot' the armature t0 one of the contact-points,

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l is atop plan view of a relay constructed in accordance with my invention. under side of the relay.V Figs. and 4 are sectional elevations, the planes ot section being indicated by the lines @c m and y y, Fig.

l, respectively; and Fig5 is adiagrammatic view illustrating the manner of winding the magnets and the circuits thereof in a railway signaling system. l

In the practice ot' my invention the bindingl posts ll, forming poles of the main coil 2 of the magnets, are connected to the opposite poles ot' the battery @the rails of an insulated section a: of track being included in the circuit ofthe battery, the latter being connected to the rails at one end of the section and the poles of the magnet to the rails -at the opposite end of the section, as is customary, so

Fig. 2 is a plan view ot the.-

that when a train enters the section the battery will beshort-circuited. On ythe breaking of the circuit of battery the armature 3 of the magtet 'should drop, so as to break the circuit to the signal y, thereby causing the signals to go to dangeix In order to pre vent the armature from adhering to the cores ot' the magnets, as it frequently does, with sufficient force to resist the retractive power of the spring employed for shitting the armature, a second coil t is wound around the cores of the magnet in the opposite direction to the winding of the coilV 2, and the poles 5 of this second coil are so connected to the poles otthe battery b that current through the coil 4f Will tendto change the polarity of the cores of the magnet from that produced by the current through the coil 2. The size or number of turns in the coil 4 is so proportioned to that of the coil l, and to the relative strength of the batteries a and l), that 'the' action produced or tended to be produced by the currents in the coil 4 is not sufficient to overcome the attractive power produced by the current through the ciol 2, nor to produce, When the circuit through the coil 2 is broken, a suilicient attractive force lin the cores to pull the armature away from the back contact 17.

rlhe magnets, constructed as described, are secured upon a base-plate 7, the ends ot the cores of the magnet, which are formed of soft iron, projecting through the plate, as shown in Figs. 2 and -t. On the under side of the plate 7 are formed lugs 8, between which the soft-iron armature 3 is pivoted, and on the armature is secured a linger 9, adapted, when the armature is attracted to the poles of the magnet, to press one end of the spring l0 against the contact-point formed by thelower end of the binding-post 1i for the wire l2 leading to the signal 13. The opposite end of the spring l0 is secured to the end of a screw forming one ot' the poles 5 of the secondary coil i. 'l`he finger 9 is provided witha block or lug li, of insulating material, which bears against the spring l0 and prevents the passage of the current from the spring to the linger, on which is attached a conducting-strip by the entrance of 2o" s stares 15, connected bya wire 16 to the binding-post 11 and adapted, when the armatureis kicked away from the magnet by operation "of the secondary coil 4, to come into electrical contact with a bracket 17, attached to the end of a binding-post lS, for the wire 19,forming part of the shunt-circuit, to be hereinafter described. The opposite end of the wire 19 is connected to the return-wire 2O from the signal.

It Will be understood that the strip may be omitted and the finger 9 employed as part ofthe shunt-circuit. In lieu of the returnwire 20 one pole of the battery b and of the electric mechanism at the signal may be grounded, in which the wire from the binding-post 18 will also be grounded.

As soon as the battery a is short circuited a train upon the section x the secondary coil, Whose. circuit is normally closed, holding the signal at safety, will be eiective to change the polarity of the cores ot` the magnets and the armature 3 will move away from the poles of the magnet. This movement of the armature permits the spring 10 to move away from the binding-post 11, thereby breaking the signal-circuit and the secondary permitting the signal to go to danger. As coil is included in the signalcircuit, the cores ofthe magnet will not be excited sufficiently long by the secondary coil to have any attractive eitect upon the armature;

It sometimes happens that the spring 10 is `welded or soldered to the end ot the bindingpost 11 by a heavy current in the line 12, due to lightning or its coming iu contact with a heavily-charged conductor. When this occurs, the signal-circut lwill not be broken by the movement of the armature from the magnets, and hence the signal will not go to danger. This objectionable feature is overcome by the shunt-circuit hereinbefore described, which consists of the wire 14, extending from the binding-post 1l` to the finger 9 or the conducting-strip 15 thereon, bracket 1.7, bindingpost 18, Wire 19, and wire 2O or earth, in case a return-wire from the signal is not employed.

Vhen the armature moves away fram its magnet and the spring 10 adheres to the bindingpost 1l, the shunt-circuit will be closed by contact of the linger 9l or strip 15 with the binding-post 18 or bracket 17, and as this shunt-circuit presents less resistance than the signal-circuit the latter will be broken. The movement of the armature to the magnets will break the shunt-circuit, whereupon the current from battery b will again flow through the signal-circuit.

Itis characteristic ot' my improvement that a retracting-spring or other equivalent device is not'femployed for shifting the armature away from the magnets, but immediately on the breaking of the circuit ofthe main coil 2 the armature moves away from the magnets,

as the change of polarity of the core destroys all residual magnetism and the force produced by the coil 4 is not sufficient to hold the armature to the magnets.

It is not necessary to wind the coils 2 and 4 in opposite directions, provided the respective poles or terminals of. the coils be so connected with the battery or batteries that currents in the coils will iiow in opposite directions, and

thereby tend to produce dilferent polarities in thecore of the magnet; but the windings of the coil 4 should be less than those of the coil 2, in order that the coils may not counterbalance each other.

'It will be observed that the circuit through the coil 4 is not completed except when the shunt-circuit is employed until the arnmturo under theinliuence of the coil 2 has completed its movement, so that there will not be any resistance by the coil 4- to the movement ol' the armature.

I claim herein as my invention- 1. A diterentially wound relay having a non-polarized core, in combination with n non-polarized armature, the winding of the relay being greater in one direction than the other and of a suliicient number of turns to produce a considerable forccin the core, the lesser windings having a suilicient number of turns to change the polarity of the core when the circuit through the greater winding is broken, but notto produce a material attractive force in the core, substantially as set forth.

2. In a signaling system, the combination of a track circuit, a dilerentially wound relay, the winding in one direction being greater than that in the other direction, the greater coil being included in the track circuit, and a normally closed signal circuit controlled by the relay, and including therein the lesser coil of the relay, substantially as set forth.

3. In a signaling system, the combination of a trackcircut, a dilterentially woundjrelay having its greater coil included in the track circuit, a normally closed signal circuit controlled by the relay and including therein the llesser coil of the relay, and a shunt circuit closed by the movement of the armature away from the magnet, and also including therein the lesser coil of the relay, substantially as set forth. Y

` 4. In a signaling system, the combination of a track. a relay provided with two diierently proportioned coils, the greater coil being inclu ded -in the track circuit, and a. normally closedsignal circuit controlled by the relay and including therein the lesser coil ol' the relay, said coils being so connected in the circuits that electric currents will pass in opposite directions through' the coils, substan tially as set forth.

5. In a signaling system, the combination of a track circuit, a relay provided with two dif-l ferent] y proportioned coils, the greater coil belt: 3e

IXO

,illlllllllw 543,785 A' y a ing included in the track-circuit, a normally closed signal circuit having the lesser coil included therein, a make and break mechanism controlled by the armature of the relay, and so constructed as to close the signal circuit; only when the armature is in 01j approximately' in contact with the poles of the relay, substantially as set forth. y

In testimony whereof I' have hereunto Set' my hand. v y

' JENS e. sonlanioinnn.`

Witneses': i I

DARWIN S. WoLooTT, F. E. GAITHER. 

